Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna on transfers and balance in squad

Town are less than three weeks away from starting their top tier campaign with the visit of Liverpool on August 17th, and the manager says the club are 'working really hard' on adding more new faces.

READ MORE: Alex Jones on friendly defeat to Fortuna 

They've signed five players so far this window - forward Omari Hutchinson (£18m), defender Ben Johnson (free), centre-back Jacob Greaves (£15m), attacker Liam Delap (£15m) and keeper Aro Muric (£8m) - but McKenna wants plenty more in the door.

Liam Delap is one of five new signings so far (Image: Ross Halls)
“I don’t think there’s anything, as far as I know, imminent – in terms of the next day or so," he said, when asked if reinforcements were close.

“We’re working really hard. We know we need to make a lot more additions to have a squad that’s strong enough to be competitive in Premier League games, so we’re all working really, really hard on that.

"We’ve still got a few weeks before the season starts and a few weeks before the window closes on top of that – and I think we all know how imperative it is that we improve the squad further.”

Of course, one of the pillars of Town's remarkable success has been the band of brothers culture in the squad - so is it hard to find the right balance in terms of adding new players while retaining that same vibe?

Town start their Premier League campaign in less than three weeks (Image: Ross Halls)
“It’s certainly a balance to hit," McKenna explained. "We’ve got a group where so many of them have played from our season in League One through to the season in the Championship.

“We know that we’ve built such a good spirit and style of play, the culture in the group, environment at the training ground, all those things – and of course the challenge is to continue to grow that with the players who have been very important to us, but with everybody knowing that we need to add considerably to that group to deal with the demands of the division.

READ MORE: McKenna on 'huge' step up to Premier League

“I think everyone inside the club is comfortable with that. The players who have been such a big part of it are the first ones to acknowledge that and that we need to improve the group.

“And they also want the help, because they know the scale of the challenge we’re going into.

“So that’s always the challenge, but I’m really confident with the group of players and the staff that we have, that we’ll be able to do that.”

While the club are clearly working hard to bring in more new signings, it seems likely more will depart this window too.

Wes Burns went off injured against Fortuna (Image: Ross Halls)
But with a number of injuries in the squad - Nathan Broadhead, Wes Burns, Hutchinson, Harry Clarke, Ali Al-Hamadi and Cameron Humphreys are all on the treatment table - McKenna says it's all hands on deck currently.

“It’s possible," he replied, when asked if one or two players could move on. "Look, at the moment we’re short of numbers, there’s no two ways about it – with the injuries that we have, we’re short of numbers.

“So everybody who’s training with us – and I’m going to include Fin (Barbrook) and Leon (Ayinde) in that – they’re really important to the group and they have to be ready to play a part in the Premier League.

“That’s just the reality of where we’re at with the numbers and availability.

“But of course, as the month develops, if we manage to make any additions that we want to make then we have to have a squad that’s the appropriate size and we’ll look at everybody’s individual case and what’s going to be the best for them and best for the team.

“But at the moment, absolutely everyone who’s with the group is really important to us getting ready for the season.”

One of the things the squad lacks on paper is Premier League experience.

New signing Johnson has by far the most top tier experience under his belt, having played 69 games for West Ham, but just eight other players have kicked a ball in the Premier League - many for just a few games or minutes.

So is that something McKenna is looking to rectify?

New signing Ben Johnson has by far the most Premier League experience in the squad (Image: Ross Halls)
“I think you always have a balance with your recruitment," he explained. "If you’re a newly-promoted side, you’re probably not going to sign someone in the prime of their career with lots of Premier League experience.

“That’s really hard to do for a newly-promoted side, from a financial and from a football status point of view – that’s just the reality of it.

“We had the same last year in the Championship as a newly-promoted side.

“Of course we have to look at things differently and sometimes you can maybe find a player with good Premier League experience who’s maybe a little bit older – and that’s a profile that we’ve looked at it in different positions over the summer.

“We’ve brought in younger players who’ve had some Premier League experience, that’s one possible attribute.

"And sometimes you prioritise youth and physicality, the hunger to improve and ability to develop, ability to grow as a player, over those attributes.

“So there’s always a balance of everything. In an ideal world, yes we want to have a squad that has a good balance of experience.

Massimo Luongo is one of Town's most experienced players - but he hasn't played in the Premier League (Image: Ross Halls)
"We still have lots of experienced players in the squad – Sammy Morsy, Massimo Luongo, Cameron Burgess now, Conor Chaplin’s an experienced footballer now, Wes Burns is experienced.

“We have lots of experienced footballers, maybe without Premier League experience.

“We have lots of young players who’ve had Premier League exposure, who’ve been at Premier League clubs.

“And if we can find players who have a balance of both then that would be welcome as well.

“I think the most important thing is to have a balance in the squad that can implement a style of football that we believe is going to make us competitive in the division, and that’s what we’ll try and do.”